The idea of a deity inhabiting a human body was not invented by Christianity. Roman and Greek mythology is rife with stories of gods descending to Earth and interacting with humans.In Egypt, the pharaohs themselves were considered infallible gods — at least until they were poisoned by their ambitious spouse or siblings.Here’s what’s different: The god of Christianity is the only deity who relentlessly pursues humans instead of the other way around.Essentially, Easter is all about the chase.In his book “Secrets in the Dark: A Life in Sermons,” the theologian Frederick Buechner describes the absurd lengths to which God has gone to reconcile with his creation:“Once they have seen him in a stable, they can never be sure where he will appear or to what lengths he will go or to what ludicrous depths of self-humiliation he will descend in his wild pursuit of mankind. If holiness and the awful power and majesty of God were present in this least auspicious of all events, the birth of a peasant’s child, then there is no place or time so lowly and earthbound but that holiness can be present there too.”In the eyes of a suffering and weary world, Christianity seems a failure, and has from its beginning: a nonsensical religion fostered by outcasts who constantly fought and bickered among themselves while following around a homeless cleric whom they themselves frequently doubted — a troublemaker who not only claimed divinity but also had the audacity to suggest that what had been written might not be what God meant.At face value, the contention that Easter changed everything makes no sense, given that people continue to hate, hurt and kill. The poor are not helped. Forgiveness is given sparingly and then often only grudgingly. Even among Christians, religion can be not a tool of mercy but a blunt instrument of self-righteousness, brandished to oppress and punish.If what we see every day is the only truth that exists, Easter would just be another Sunday.But love — especially the crazy kind — is patient.The folly that is Jesus has outlasted empires, rulers and philosophies that were thought to be indefatigable. Unlike other religions that have been relegated to history or simply forgotten, Easter has weathered the relentless assaults of doubt and cynicism and even the damage inflicted by its own adherents.Easter turns what we think we know about God on its head. In one stunning moment, it declares that God, like the prodigal’s father, is running toward us with open arms, not with shaking fists.Easter ensures that Christianity will survive the bungling of those who practice it but have never understood it. We’re not even remotely qualified to exact judgment upon another person, not when our own lives are in such desperate need of healing and rescue from the wreckage of our own making.Easter rolls away the impenetrable stones of fear, selfishness and pride that would otherwise entomb us in death and darkness. It’s the only way the light gets in.Reach Charita at 330-580-8313. On Twitter: @cgoshayREP.